Eastern Sierra Fly Fishing Report: Week of August 14, 2026

Middle of August, and after a brutal stretch of heat the forecast finally offers some relief. Monsoon moisture is pushing in with real thunderstorm chances through the middle of next week, which should knock the air temperature down and, more importantly, cool the water overnight. Until it does, a voluntary Hoot Owl restriction is in place on Crowley, both stretches of the Owens, Bishop Creek Canal, Bridgeport Reservoir, and the East Walker. Carry a thermometer, fish the first and last hours of light, and stop catch and release fishing when the water climbs toward 70 degrees. Here is where things stand. Every fly below is one we tie and stock, so tap any name to grab it.

Crowley Lake

Crowley is fishing well and the water is the cleanest it has been in weeks now that the summer algae has died back and sunk. Surface temperatures are in the low to mid 70s, so follow the cool water: the stream channels, Hilton Bay, McGee Bay, Crooked Creek, and the North Arm have all produced, with reports ranging from 5 to 15 feet in the bays out to the deeper channel edges. We are hearing of bottom temperatures near 70 degrees in about 20 feet at several spots, so land fish fast, keep them in the net, and skip the grip and grin. Midges are still the base, though most of them are almost impossibly small right now, and the Callibaetis window around 9 to 10 plus the damsel emergence from 11 to 1 are the reliable feeding periods. Perch fry are here and growing, and stripped leeches have been quietly excellent both on the swing and under an indicator. Note that access to the western side of the lake is closed off at Whitmore Road.

Try: Black Buzzer (16 to 18), Thorax Callibaetis (14 to 16), The Green Damsel Nymph (12 to 14), Egg Sucking Leech, Olive, Epoxy Minnow, Shad.

Hot Creek

Flows are down to roughly 8 CFS, clarity is good, the weed beds are at full growth, and this is now almost entirely a morning fishery. The caddis migration and the female Trico hatch overlap right around 7 to 8, the spinner fall follows near 9, and it goes quiet somewhere between 10 and 11, so be rigged and ready before you get there. Read the rise form: splashy is caddis, sippy is Trico, because caddis emerge far faster than mayflies. Fish a nine to 12 foot 5X leader with three to six feet of 6X, aim your casts at the clear lanes rather than the weeds, and keep drifts short. If nothing is showing, a terrestrial, a scud, or a small streamer will still find fish.

Try: Thorax Trico (20), Sparkle Dun, Male Trico (20), Elk Hair Caddis, Brown (18 to 20), Bead Body Scud, Olive (16 to 18), Foam Ant, Black.

Upper Owens River

Flows are holding around 57 CFS with runoff long finished, and the water is clear except where cattle are inside the fence. Temperature is the whole story here: about 68 degrees down by Benton Crossing Bridge by midmorning, while the upper confluence stays in the mid 60s through the middle of the day, so fish upstream and fish early. Tricos have been strong early to mid morning with the males coming off in the evening, caddis are steady, and the fish moving up out of Crowley mean egg and worm patterns are still earning their keep. Anglers swinging bigger streamers are turning some genuinely large browns and rainbows. One safety note: irrigation has begun, so anything upstream of the first drive through gate can be hazardous.

Try: Thorax Trico (20), Trico Male Poly Spinner (20), BH Pheasant Tail, Angel Hair (18 to 20), Elk Hair Caddis, Brown (16), Wooly Bugger, Brown (8).

Lower Owens River (Wild Trout near Bishop)

Flows have climbed rather than dropped. Earlier in the month the river was in the 370s, and the most recent word puts it in the 500 CFS range, so be very careful about wading and expect to fish from the banks. Clarity is good and the fish are spread out, but water temperatures are creeping over the 70 degree mark through the afternoon, which means this is a first light fishery and you should put the rod down when the thermometer says so. Nymph the accessible banks in the morning and switch to caddis imitations in the evening. If the thunderstorms arrive as forecast, this river should get a meaningful reset.

Try: BH Pheasant Tail, Angel Hair (18), BH Olive Hares Ear (16), Czech Nymph, Natural (12 to 14), Elk Hair Caddis, Brown (16), BH Krystal Bugger, Peacock.

East Walker River

Honest answer this week: the word out of Bridgeport is to stay off the river. Flows are around 165 to 180 CFS, which is right in the productive band, but water temperatures and oxygen levels have been poor enough that most anglers have simply gone elsewhere. The cooling trend and thunderstorms forecast for the middle of next week should drop temperatures considerably and could turn this around quickly, so check conditions later in the week before you commit to the drive. When it does come back, remember the old advice about staying up by the dam is backwards in late summer: cool nights chill the water as it moves downstream, so check temperatures constantly, especially below the bridge. Nymphing small midge and caddis patterns has been the pattern when conditions allow.

Try: Tungsten Zebra Midge, Red (20 to 22), BH Pheasant Tail, Sparkle Back (16 to 18), Elk Hair Caddis, Brown (16 to 18), Copper John, Black (14 to 18), Elk Hair Hopper.

Bridgeport Reservoir and Twin Lakes

Bridgeport is still producing, but only in specific water. The main body is carrying a tremendous amount of algae from the warm temperatures, while the East Walker and Buckeye Bay channels are far clearer and boats working up into them are reporting 10 to 20 fish per day. Get a boat into the channels and you will find them; fish anywhere else and you probably will not. Twin Lakes remains the steadier bet, with good reports on both trout and Kokanee, and the fly answer there is a sinking line and a leech or an attractor worked along the drop offs. Mini leeches, soft hackles, and damsel nymphs are the patterns that keep coming back to us.

Try: Egg Sucking Leech, Olive, Tungsten Woolly Bugger, Black (8 to 10), The Green Damsel Nymph (12 to 14), Blob FAB, Sunburst Fire Tail, Black Buzzer (16 to 18).

Weather Outlook

The pattern is finally breaking. Monsoon moisture is moving into the Eastern Sierra with a 50 to 60 percent chance of thunderstorms around Mammoth Lakes and the Lakes Basin through the middle of next week, and Rock Creek and Bishop Creek canyons are running 70 to 80 percent with brief heavy rainfall possible. Mammoth should sit in the low to mid 70s with overnight lows in the mid 40s. Bishop drops back to highs near 88 to the low 90s with lows in the upper 50s, a real improvement on the 100s the valley has been enduring. Cooler nights matter more than cooler days, because that is when the rivers get their reset. Watch the sky in the afternoons, get off exposed water when you hear thunder, and expect the fishing to improve as the week goes on.

A note from the shop: every 395 Fly Co fly comes with a tutorial for the water it is tied for, so you will know exactly how to fish it before you are standing in the river. Questions on patterns, sizes, or where to start this week? Email us anytime at 395flyco@gmail.com, we are always happy to talk flies.